Burlesque

Pari Dukovic, a regular contributor to The New Yorker, will see his first solo show open at Giacobetti Paul Gallery in Dumbo tonight.

Over the course of two years, Dukovic photographed burlesque performers in New York City. His interest in the scene was fuelled by the contrast between an artist’s public and private persona: “A burlesque performer takes a piece of themselves and builds a character in their fantasy world,” he writes. “While these performances take place in public, performers actually share a very private story.”

The resulting photographs are emotional and quite intimate: “I wanted my viewer to enter the emotional state of the performer’s character and psyche.” For Dukovic, the biggest challenge was “to capture the most ethereal moments of the performers and to have the sense of looking into a private world.”

I think he succeeds.

“Burlesque” opens tonight at 111 Front Street, Suite 220, at 6 P.M. There will be an encore opening, to coincide with the Armory art show, on Saturday, March 9th, from 6 to 9 P.M.

Whitney Johnson was the director of photography at The New Yorker from 2011 to 2015.